Otway and Barrett have regrouped, fallen out, and split more times than a curdled sauce. One tour was even titled ‘The Incompatible Otway And Barrett‘. ‘I think he’s genuinely fascinated by what I do’ said Otway of Wild Willy ‘but totally horrified at the damage it does to his reputation as a musician’. Willy countered ‘I do rather find that performing alongside his imbecilic antics distracts from the music I’m playing. I’m a little bit more tolerant of him now but it used to really cut to the quick in the early days’. Yet here they are, celebrating over 50 years of attempted escapes and still loved for their in-yer-face originality.
Older but wiser, the contrast between the deadpan humour of Barrett and mad onstage antics of Otway are hilarious to watch. John’s lyrical genius and Willy’s outstanding musicianship continue to entertain. Let’s hope they don’t fall out again. On second thought let’s hope they do, it’s far more fun!
Audiences should be prepared for everything from bare-chested theremin playing to wah wah wheelie bin as the duo jump from one hit and 40 near misses to another .An amazing and irreverent performance by two master entertainers.
Dr John Otway (he received an honorary degree from Oxford) has performed over 5,000 gigs since first launching himself in Aylesbury, building a sizable cult following of amazingly loyal and adoring fans. He has released 15 albums (six withWild Willy Barrett), sold out The Royal Albert Hall and headlined the London Palladium. His self-made biopicOtway theMovie: The Story of Rock n Roll’s Greatest Failure premiered in Leicester Square, was shown at Cannes, voted 2nd best film of 2013 by Guardian readers and is still popular on Netflix. He has also written two volumes of his autobiography. His song Beware of the Flowers was voted the nation’s seventh favourite lyric in a BBC poll.
www.johnotway.com
Wild Willy Barrett is an English experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist known for virtuoso fiddle and guitar skills, ability with a great number of stringed instruments, playing slide guitar with a whole raw egg (known as egg-necking) and his ‘wah wah wheelie bin’. He has performed alongside musicians as varied as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, GordonGiltrap, Ralph McTell, George Hamilton IV, Madness, Steeleye Span and reggae legends Sly and Robbie. More recently, Willy has been focused on the all metric Plucking Banger, an instrument co-designed with Rob West in order to perform Willy’s original concept of ‘metric music’. As a skilled instrument maker, woodworker and carver Willy has produced some highly unusual furniture over many years.
www.wildwillybarrett.com
Tickets for this show are non-refundable. In the event of a cancellation, ticket holders will be contacted.
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